DanÅke Carlsson has added a photo to the pool:
Greg Adams Photography posted a photo:
A Kit, of baby fox, on the stairs of an abandoned building at Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
Harold Goddijn en Corinne Goddijn-Vigreux stoppen ermee. Hun navigatieconcern TomTom groeide in 35 jaar uit tot een wereldmerk en bleef in de kern altijd een familie- en…
:format(jpeg):fill(f8f8f8,true)/s3/static.nrc.nl/podcasts/wp-content/blogs.dir/131/files/2020/11/nrcpodcastfeatured-image1280x768v01vandaag.png)
In joint statement, the three countries call for lasting solution to crisis, without explicitly mentioning the US and its oil blockade
Mexico, Spain and Brazil have voiced concern about the “dramatic situation” in Cuba, which has faced months of pressure from US president Donald Trump, with the trio urging “sincere and respectful dialogue”.
Without explicitly mentioning the US, the three leftist-led countries expressed on Saturday “deep concern regarding the grave humanitarian crisis that the people of Cuba are enduring, and call for the adoption of necessary measures to alleviate this situation”.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s earlier tone of triumph with the reopening of key waterway falls flat – key US politics stories from 18 April at a glance
Donald Trump hopes of extricating himself from his war on Iran were dealt another blow on Saturday after Tehran closed the strait of Hormuz again after the president said the US would not end its blockade of Iranian ports.
Earlier, Trump said in a social media post: “The naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete,” adding that “this process should go very quickly”.
Continue reading...
"A trailer has been released for the first film to star an authorised generative AI version of a major Hollywood actor," writes The Guardian:
Val Kilmer was cast in western As Deep As the Grave before his death in April 2025. Production delays meant he never shot any scenes, but the creative team worked with UK-based company Sonantic to create an AI speaking voice based on his old recordings. His estate and daughter Mercedes collaborated with the film-makers on the visual deepfake of the actor. Kilmer, who was diagnosed with throat cancer, was also assisted by technology for his cameo in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick...
Writer-director Coerte Voorhees confirmed that Kilmer is seen for around an hour of the film's running time... Voorhees has said that the production followed Sag-Aftra [union] guidelines, and that Kilmer's estate — which provided archival material for them to use — was compensated financially.
"Kilmer's likeness can be seen portraying Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist," adds The Hollywood Reporter. But the AV Club calls it "ghoulish puppet show time."
"Having your AI Val Kilmer puppet whisper 'Don't fear the dead, and don't fear me' in a movie trailer is a bold choice..."
He is accompanied (per Variety) by a whole host of disclaimers, caveats, and explanations offered by writer-director Coerte Voorhees and his associates: Kilmer deeply wanted to be in the movie, but was too sick to do so. His family endorses and supports his inclusion. He was a big fan of technology, including, presumably, its use in turning his own image into a digital avatar to then shove into movies...
The fact is, of course, that nobody would be paying a fraction of this attention to As Deep As The Grave — about early female archeologist Ann Axtell Morris — if it weren't now being used as the stage on which Voorhees was very publicly accepting the dare to go full-on ghoulish with AI tech.
"The filmmakers said they hoped they were showing Hollywood how to use the technology in a positive way..." notes Australia's ABC News. But their articles add that "Some have called the trailer 'terrifying' and 'disgusting' on social media."
Mashable writes:
"Very fitting that this trailer includes a scene where a corpse is unceremoniously yanked out of the ground," read one of the top comments on As Deep as the Grave's trailer at time of writing... [O]nline commenters have labelled it disgusting and disrespectful, not only for digitally reanimating Kilmer but also for the damaging precedent As Deep as the Grave's use of AI could set for the film industry as a whole.
Val Kilmer was cast in western As Deep As the Grave before his death in April 2025. Production delays meant he never shot any scenes, but the creative team worked with UK-based company Sonantic to create an AI speaking voice based on his old recordings. His estate and daughter Mercedes collaborated with the film-makers on the visual deepfake of the actor. Kilmer, who was diagnosed with throat cancer, was also assisted by technology for his cameo in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick...
Writer-director Coerte Voorhees confirmed that Kilmer is seen for around an hour of the film's running time... Voorhees has said that the production followed Sag-Aftra [union] guidelines, and that Kilmer's estate — which provided archival material for them to use — was compensated financially.
"Kilmer's likeness can be seen portraying Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist," adds The Hollywood Reporter. But the AV Club calls it "ghoulish puppet show time."
"Having your AI Val Kilmer puppet whisper 'Don't fear the dead, and don't fear me' in a movie trailer is a bold choice..."
He is accompanied (per Variety) by a whole host of disclaimers, caveats, and explanations offered by writer-director Coerte Voorhees and his associates: Kilmer deeply wanted to be in the movie, but was too sick to do so. His family endorses and supports his inclusion. He was a big fan of technology, including, presumably, its use in turning his own image into a digital avatar to then shove into movies...
The fact is, of course, that nobody would be paying a fraction of this attention to As Deep As The Grave — about early female archeologist Ann Axtell Morris — if it weren't now being used as the stage on which Voorhees was very publicly accepting the dare to go full-on ghoulish with AI tech.
"The filmmakers said they hoped they were showing Hollywood how to use the technology in a positive way..." notes Australia's ABC News. But their articles add that "Some have called the trailer 'terrifying' and 'disgusting' on social media."
Mashable writes:
"Very fitting that this trailer includes a scene where a corpse is unceremoniously yanked out of the ground," read one of the top comments on As Deep as the Grave's trailer at time of writing... [O]nline commenters have labelled it disgusting and disrespectful, not only for digitally reanimating Kilmer but also for the damaging precedent As Deep as the Grave's use of AI could set for the film industry as a whole.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
TEHERAN (ANP) - Iran en de Verenigde Staten boeken vooruitgang in de onderhandelingen om hun oorlog te beëindigen, heeft de Iraanse parlementsvoorzitter zaterdagavond gezegd. Maar Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf voegde eraan toe dat de partijen nog ver van een akkoord verwijderd zijn.
"We zijn nog ver van een eindgesprek," zei Ghalibaf, die een van de Iraanse onderhandelaars is, in een nationale televisietoespraak. "We hebben vooruitgang geboekt in de onderhandelingen, maar er zijn veel hiaten en enkele fundamentele discussiepunten blijven."
Volgens Ghalibaf heeft Iran "op het slagveld gezegevierd" en heeft het land alleen maar ingestemd met een tijdelijk bestand met de VS, omdat aan de eisen van Iran werd voldaan. Het bestand van twee weken loopt woensdag af, tenzij het wordt verlengd. Een permanent akkoord, waar bemiddelaars op aandringen, is nog niet afgerond en vooruitgang op belangrijke knelpunten is moeilijk.
Phil Kingsbury - Thanks for 4.9 million views! has added a photo to the pool:
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
back triple camera
f/1q.8 - 6.8 mm - 1/9 sec - ISO 1250
iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:
